The remarks by the Russian leader suggested he wanted to draw out negotiations or make a truce impossible. Ukraine’s leader called the response to a cease-fire plan “manipulative.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he didn’t support an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, calling for more discussion on a permanent end to the war as Moscow’s army made rapid gains toward expelling Kyiv’s forces from its Kursk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia agrees in principle with the U.S. ceasefire proposal, but the terms need to be worked out.